MATTHEW SHERLEY

BABY BUMPS

Updated: Feb 11

Who coined the descriptive phrase "baby bump?" An even better question is, “Why did someone think that phrase was a good idea?” Am I the only one who thinks that the term baby bump is obnoxious and unflattering? It makes me wonder, “What, other than babies, goes bump in the night?

I understand that celebrities don’t really have private lives. I get it, I really do. But, do we really need to know - moments after conception - when some person we can only read about but will never meet, has become impregnated? I think I’m going to barf the next time I read about someone debuting her baby bump. Seriously? Tabloid journalist’s act like appearing in public while pregnant is akin to a runway show where designers debut their latest fashions. Since when did unborn children become fashion accessories?

Baby bump. A term that some enterprising journalist came up with to make his or her copy more memorable. As if chasing celebrities down the street, shoving a microphone in their faces, shouting questions and snapping photographs – all of people who, for just one minute, want to lead a normal life - wasn’t memorable enough. Now, that baby bump is a clearly recognized phrase, it has been added to The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. I’m not exactly a cultural icon, but I’m afraid to think what the next easily recognizable phrase might be. Trophy wife? Oh, wait, that one is already taken.